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It's still unclear if pot advisory questions will make the Nov. 4 ballot.

UPDATED: Sierra Club endorses Gonzales for mayor

Opponent Bushee says "undeserved"

December 27, 2013, 1:40 pm

By Julie Ann Grimm

Javier Gonzales picked up another big endorsement Friday when the Sierra Club Northern New Mexico chapter announced its support for his candidacy as mayor of Santa Fe.

The environmental advocacy nonprofit issued a statement that says Gonzales "has recognized that regional solutions are necessary to address climate change, protection of our water resources, and securing more renewable energy sources," and also pointed to his work as a county commissioner in the '90s when he "established Santa Fe’s first open-space ordinances supported by voters with a $30 million bond for the purchase of open space."

Gonzales, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party, is facing city councilors Patti Bushee and Bill Dimas for in the mayor's race on the March 4 city election ballot.

"We think his environmental record deserves a large lump of coal from PNM's Four Corner's power plant and we think individual Sierra Club members and voters will too after they've reviewed his record," reads the statement.

Bushee noted that Sierra Club endorsed her council campaigns in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012, calling her "an original champion of the Santa Fe River Park & Trail System," among other praise.

The group also this year endorsed City Councilor candidates Signe Lindell for District 1, Joseph Maestas in District 2 and incumbent Councilor Carmichael Dominguez in District 3.

Read an older SFR blog post from about other endorsements, including Gonzales' nod from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He earlier got an endorsement from the Northern New Mexico Central Labor Council.